


Not Today

by SykoShadowRose



Series: Syko's 2021 Valentine's Day Collection [4]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Hopeful Ending, M/M, Pining, Pre-Relationship, Ruby Rose (mentioned) - Freeform, Unresolved Pining, Yang Xiao Long (mentioned) - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 21:40:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29425422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SykoShadowRose/pseuds/SykoShadowRose
Summary: Tai always looked for those little things that tell him Qrow is home safe again.
Relationships: Qrow Branwen/Taiyang Xiao Long
Series: Syko's 2021 Valentine's Day Collection [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2161350
Comments: 6
Kudos: 18





	Not Today

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Victorious56](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Victorious56/gifts).



There were certain inevitabilities in the world that those living in it found an innate comfort in. The sun would rise and set. The moon would wax and wane. The tide would come and go. The world would turn and the season would change…

And Qrow Branwen would always fuck with him whenever he came around.

Taiyang shook his head with a fond smile, stepping forward to correct the picture that was hanging upside down when he knew it was right side up last night before he’d gone to bed. It was always something small, a turned picture, a changed frame, a flipped vase. But for all the little things that Qrow did, Tai would never complain or tell him to stop. Now when those little things told him Qrow was home safe.

He made his way to the kitchen, planning what to make for breakfast for all of them. By the time the girls had stumbled downstairs to eat, rubbing the sleep from their eyes, he’d already set out the plates. Once they realized there were four settings instead of three, they immediately turned and ran back up the stairs. Tai shook with laughter as he heard Qrow’s shout from the girls jumping on him to wake him, shaking his head at their antics. Honestly he would have preferred to let Qrow sleep as long as he needed to but stopping the two of them never worked. It was easier to let them play with their uncle and then let Qrow go back to sleep after they’d gone off to school. 

Though today he’d be sending the girls off to play with friends since it was the weekend. Qrow wouldn’t get to sleep again until after nightfall if he didn’t and the shifter was always exhausted when he came home from a mission. Besides, one of the parents was holding a bit of a Sweetheart’s Day get together for the children to exchange treats and cards, though she’d gone out of her way to ensure Tai knew he was invited as well. He’d politely turned the invitation down even when she’d insisted that it was an open invitation and he was welcome to drop in at any time. He turned when there was noise behind him to see Qrow shuffle in with Ruby in his arms and Yang clinging to his back, both excitedly telling him about the “party” they were going to. 

Qrow did his best to keep up with the animated chatter but the brawler could see how his eyes were fighting to stay open so he quickly stepped in to take some of the burden, pulling the girls off of him so they could all sit down to eat. He got a small smile of thanks from his old friend while the girls bombarded him with questions about his travels. Qrow offered small bits of answers with promises of a proper story later for bedtime which got him twin pouts but before either of his daughters could throw a proper fit Tai told them it was time to get cleaned up and dressed to go. With the reminder of their plan for the day, both girls were bouncing around again, Yang a bit more than Ruby. 

Tai managed to get the two through the routine of bathing and dressing, walking them out the door with a call back to Qrow that he’d be back soon. After dropping the girls off and dodging several attempts to be drawn into a conversation and pressed to join the “festivities” Tai made his way back home with plans to clean the kitchen while Qrow got some more sleep. Or, that had been the plan until he came back to find the kitchen already cleaned and Qrow passed out on the couch in a way Tai was sure _could not possibly be comfortable_. Honestly, the man was a cross between a child and a cat when he slept sometimes and Tai still wasn’t sure how he’d ended up in some of the positions he’d been found in over the years. 

This time he had one of his long legs flung over the back of the couch with the other over the arm, his head off the edge and his hair brushing the floor with one arm across his stomach and the other on the ground near his head. Sighing heavily, Tai shook his head as he stooped down, one hand gently cupping the back of Qrow’s neck to lift him while the other moved his arm out of the way. After pausing a few times to ensure the huntsman wasn’t going to wake up while he was being moved, Tai finally managed to reposition him into what was a normal human resting pose and covered him with a blanket. Since the kitchen was cleaned by Qrow before he’d gone back to sleep, Tai decided he would go shopping instead of doing chores so the Qrow could have some peace while he slept. 

He’d started to call for Zwei but stopped when he found the furry little body that had already jumped up to curl on Qrow. Tai shook his head with a smile, ruffling the short fur gently before he left the house again, a short note for Qrow on the table in case he woke up before Tai returned. It shouldn’t take long to gather a few extra things to compensate for Qrow being home but he could never be sure when the holidays hit. It took a little longer than he’d thought it would, which was no real surprise, and he let out a sigh of relief when he entered the house, pausing when he breathed in. 

Tai recognized the scent as a stew Qrow was exceptionally good at making, one Tai absolutely loved though he didn’t get to eat it as much as he would have liked. Qrow wasn’t home as often as he wanted and when he was, he was usually too tired to cook. Not that Tai blamed him. He liked taking care of his family and he never held any grudge about it. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t just as happy when Qrow got involved. It was nice to see him take a hand in raising the girls, even if they weren’t his responsibility, and it was always nice to see him cooking or cleaning, if only because it showed Tai he was more confident at handling the chaos his semblance caused.

Qrow took the bags off of him, shooing him out of the kitchen before he’d fully entered it. Tai put his hands up in surrender, knowing that the shorter man didn’t like others being in the kitchen with him while he was cooking because of his Misfortune and Tai didn’t want to do anything that might make things more difficult for him. Instead he whistled for Zwei and went outside, where he wouldn’t distract (or be distracted by) the hunter. He’d weeded half his garden by the time Qrow called him in to eat and the first thing Tai noticed was that there had been enough made for them to eat it again for dinner with the girls. He smiled, pleased to know that Qrow had already planned ahead for the rest of the day before he took the bowl being held out to him and sat down. 

He asked Qrow how things had gone, gotten parts of the story out of Qrow that neither Ruby or Yang would ever hear, and shared stories of how things were going at Signal and at home. Qrow was away so often that the stories of home were as interesting to him as stories of his travels were to the children so Tai always tried to remember things to share when he came back. The only reason it was so difficult was that there were _so many_ little moments he wished he could record and save for the shifter, so many small things that would be overlooked by so many people but that he knew Qrow would want to be there for if he didn’t have the heavy weight of responsibility on his frail looking shoulders. Tai knew how strong they were though. Those shoulders had carried him and both his daughters for months after Summer’s death. 

Those shoulders still carried him on bad days, when the memories were so heavy he could hardly crawl out of bed.

Tai cleaned up after they ate, insisting that he could do that much with everything else Qrow had done. The slender male frowned slightly, likely remembering all the time Tai had been the one to cook _and_ clean up afterwards, but the blond didn’t give him a chance to argue by cheating. He’d shoved a bowl of sugared strawberries and kiwis at Qrow, smirking at the happy little wiggle Qrow did at the treat. It wasn’t something he did often, didn’t want to desensitize Qrow to it or let him catch on after all, but it was a nice little trick when he needed to get Qrow to sit down and behave. When Tai was done he grabbed a second bowl of natural mixed berries and sat next to Qrow, who was practically curled around his own possessively. 

The blond smiled to himself as they watched shows, Zwei curling on the other side of Qrow and nudging the slight man closer to him. Not that he minded, not even when Qrow finished his snack and fell asleep on his shoulder. One day, Tai would tell him how he felt. He’d confess that he’d fallen for Qrow years ago when he’d been there for them when they’d needed him most. One day, he’d lay everything on the table and see what hand he was dealt. But not today. Today he’d let Qrow rest until the girls got back from spending the day with their friends and then get the younger man to help him put them to bed that night. Today, he’d let their family stay as it was just a little bit longer.


End file.
